From the Ted Talk "Alan Lupack: Is there any truth to the King Arthur legends?"

Unscramble the Blue Letters

King utarrh as we know him is a creation of the later Middle Ages, but his legend actually has its roots in Celtic typore from an earlier time: the nosxasaoinnvis of Britain. After the Romans left Britain in 410 CE, Saxon invaders from what’s now Germany and Denmark quickly capitalized on the vulnerability of the abandoned rttoeyrri. The inhabitants of Britain fought fiercely against the invaders through several centuries of turmoil. There are hardly any written records from this time, so it’s fcldiufti to reconstruct an accurate history. However, surviving poetry from the era gives us some clues. One of the oepms, The Gododdin, contains the very first reference to Arthur, though Arthur himself doesn’t actually appear in it. It says a different raworir, named Gwawrddur, was skilled at aygsinl his enemies, but was no Arthur. That’s not much to go on, but whoever this Arthur was, he must’ve been the gold standard of warriors. Whether he ruled anyone, or even lived at all is, unfortunately, less clear.

Open Cloze

King ______ as we know him is a creation of the later Middle Ages, but his legend actually has its roots in Celtic ______ from an earlier time: the ______________ of Britain. After the Romans left Britain in 410 CE, Saxon invaders from what’s now Germany and Denmark quickly capitalized on the vulnerability of the abandoned _________. The inhabitants of Britain fought fiercely against the invaders through several centuries of turmoil. There are hardly any written records from this time, so it’s _________ to reconstruct an accurate history. However, surviving poetry from the era gives us some clues. One of the _____, The Gododdin, contains the very first reference to Arthur, though Arthur himself doesn’t actually appear in it. It says a different _______, named Gwawrddur, was skilled at _______ his enemies, but was no Arthur. That’s not much to go on, but whoever this Arthur was, he must’ve been the gold standard of warriors. Whether he ruled anyone, or even lived at all is, unfortunately, less clear.

Solution

warrior

invasions

slaying

poetry

arthur

saxon

poems

territory

difficult

Original Text

King Arthur as we know him is a creation of the later Middle Ages, but his legend actually has its roots in Celtic poetry from an earlier time: the Saxon invasions of Britain. After the Romans left Britain in 410 CE, Saxon invaders from what’s now Germany and Denmark quickly capitalized on the vulnerability of the abandoned territory. The inhabitants of Britain fought fiercely against the invaders through several centuries of turmoil. There are hardly any written records from this time, so it’s difficult to reconstruct an accurate history. However, surviving poetry from the era gives us some clues. One of the poems, The Gododdin, contains the very first reference to Arthur, though Arthur himself doesn’t actually appear in it. It says a different warrior, named Gwawrddur, was skilled at slaying his enemies, but was no Arthur. That’s not much to go on, but whoever this Arthur was, he must’ve been the gold standard of warriors. Whether he ruled anyone, or even lived at all is, unfortunately, less clear.